Sony Xperia Z2: Take this smartphone on vacation and leave your camera behind

I had a chance to try out Sony’s new Xperia Z2 smartphone for a bit and the only thing I didn’t like was that I had to send it back before I headed off on summer holidays.

I think this would be a great phone to carry if you want to leave the point-and-shoot camera at home. In fact, even though I have a digital SLR I find a lot of my photos are taken on my phone, simply because it’s handy.

That makes the Xperia Z2 a contender even though with its 5.2-inch screen, it’s a bit large to slip in a pocket. The screen is impressive, it’s full HD at 1920 by 1080 pixels, which is the same as Samsung’s Galaxy S5. And at 163 grams, it outweighs the S5 just slightly.

It’s runs on Android 4.4 — KitKat.

I like the on button on the side – hard to miss. And it’s waterproof, a feature that makes it especially handy if you’re taking it on vacation – in my case skiing or sailing – both activities that can expose my phone to the elements. The ports and the SD card slot have seals over them, which you have to be sure to clamp down if you want it to be waterproof.

The Sony Xperia Z2 is waterproof.

My favourite feature on this phone is the camera. It has a 20.7 megapixel rear-facing camera, a 2.2 MP front-facing camera for video conferencing. And it takes both high definition 1080p and 4K .

You can see in this sample the difference the 4K makes.

I also like the camera’s steady shot image stabilization – my shots – especially the ones taken from a moving sailboat – tend to be a little shaky.

You can buy an unlocked version at a Sony store for $700. A locked version with a two-year contract for $150 – although in Canada you can now get that unlocked after you buy it. If you’re planning to travel and you’re shopping for a phone, the Xperia Z2 ticks a lot of boxes on the travel gadget wish list.